Comp vs Home question

[fishingbouchman]

So why not cook comp meat in the back yard? Seems like you cook one way for comps and one way for home. Would think comp meat would be the best way to go. You win Grand champ so everyone says it is the best but at home you don't cook that way. Seems like everyone would strive to cook comp meat.

 

[Big Poppa]

OK first off lets take chicken....it is very sweet....no carmelization of the skin...very clear....I prefer more of a grilled chicken at home

Ribs...Most people prefer fall off the bone....I probably like it somewhere between comp and fall off the bone and that is a close line

Pork...Most turn in very little if any pork that is pulled....it is a sliced money muscle (one the other side of the bone? and then 6-8 chunks of bark...the rest is thrown away

Brisket is the closest to what you would like to do....

 

[MAK DADDY]

Think about it this way, you have one bite to pack as much flavor into as possible for the judge. You are going to eat the whole thing at home so a more suttle flavor is better.

 

[contracted cooker]

I prefer alittle heat with most of my home Q. which usually does not do well in comps. Wife and I also like vinegar based sauces at home. comps this usually does not do great. at home we cook for 4 ppl. whose taste we know.

 

[scooter]

Some of the ingredients and techniques used in comp cooking don't translate well for home use. At least not for my family. I wouldn't cook chicken for my family in a butter bath nor would I inject my home briskets and pork butts with MSG and phosphates to amp up the flavor and moisture for the judges who typically take 1 or 2 bites.
As BP has mentioned, when I cook ribs for the home crowd I take them a little bit further in the pit than I would if I were to cook a contest (I'm not a comp cook but through BBQ classes I pretty much know how it's done). "Pull off the bone" ribs are what you want the judge to have in a KCBS contest but outside the competition arena, "fall off the bone" ribs seem to be what most folks want. I don't go that far but somewhere in between fall off and pull off the bone.
For backyard I use some of the same comp techniques like foil treatment for ribs, pork and brisket with some of the same ingredients as competitors use but remove the really unhealthy stuff like the butter in the rib foil and replace it with pineapple juice. And I don't use the MSG and phosphates some comp cooks use. What a lot of comp cooks do to chicken to get that bite through skin really takes the chicken from BBQing to butter braising. NOT how I want to cook chicken for family and friends.

 

[scooter]

I prefer alittle heat with most of my home Q. which usually does not do well in comps.

In CA a little heat does well. I can take a lot of heat but in comps I appreciate it when I detect it even in trace amounts. I acknowledge it's gotta be tough for a comp cook to know where the line is drawn with chiles. Every one has a different tolerance for heat but in CA, using chiles in comp BBQ should do very well according to the judges I've spoken with.

 

[HoDeDo]

I love a good dry rib; no glaze, jelly, sauce, etc. Judges like a little glaze on them.
You have to try to please ALL the judges... so flavors you like may take a secondary or tertiary role.... at home you can cook what you like best; plain and simple

 

[fishingbouchman]

Makes sense now.

 

[Big Poppa]

great questions too thanks